Geoff Courtnall still endures occasional post-concussion symptoms that ended his NHL career more than a dozen years ago.

However they pale in comparison to the ongoing headaches nausea dizziness sensitivity to light memory loss sleep deprivation and depression that kept him in a fog for far too long.

A disturbance in brain function from more than a dozen concussions during a 17-year run with five teams — including 246 points in 292 games with the Vancouver Canucks from 1991-95 — put Courtnall on a path to find the right treatment and point those with similar afflictions in the right direction.

It’s working. Finally.

“It’s always unpredictable really” said the 50-year-old Duncan native. “Ninety per cent of the time it’s OK then 10 per cent I have different headache issues or I do get vertigo every once in a while. And so that’s still a problem. I have tried lots of different treatments to make a difference and Valentus has helped me a lot.”

Valentus Clinics specializes in brainwave optimization through a series of sensors attached to the head — much like an EKG to assess the heart — which read the electrical output of the brain. It creates a map to show how the brain is functioning and with a concussion that program gets scrambled. The activity is read and fed back to the brain to create a mirror feedback. The process allows the brain to adjust through musical tones — and Courtnall noticed an improvement in his first visit to the Oak Bay head office of Valentus in June 2011.

“The first 1½ hour treatment was wow — I started feeling better” said Courtnall. “The biggest thing I noticed is that I was able to sleep and feel more rested afterward. Bright lights really bothered me a lot and now they don’t seem to bother me as much.

“I still have memory issues. In the past I could remember everybody’s name and phone number really easily and that’s one thing I guess as you get older you lose.”